E.J.
-
Posts
521 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Posts posted by E.J.
-
-
To see the story on PFLAG's web site click HERE
-
My only problem was why there's an exemption for sporting clubs. Allowing academic clubs makes sense, since this IS a school. But sporting clubs?
They allow "sporting clubs" because that will allow groups like The Fellowship of Christian Athletes to continue meeting on campus.
-
S.C. schools mull legal way to ban GSAs
A South Carolina school district has delayed until later in the month a vote on whether to ban all student clubs that don't relate to academics or sports as a way to close a gay student organization.
Vice chairman Robert Gantt said Monday the Lexington-Richland School District 5 board was delaying its vote on whether to ban the clubs to get more public input.
Irmo High School principal Eddie Walker said last month he would step down at the end of the next school year because the Gay-Straight Alliance conflicts with his beliefs and religious convictions.
Officials had said the district couldn't stop the alliance from forming because federal law prohibits discriminating against a club based on its purpose.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network says there are about 4,000 gay-straight alliances at schools nationwide, including 16 in South Carolina. (AP)
Copyright 2008 Associated Press
-
Mesa school's gay prom king teaching tolerance
MESA, Ariz. (AP) ? It was the proudest moment of Kyle Hutchinson's life. As he stood before the crowd at Villa Siena in Mesa on May 3 and was crowned king of the Red Mountain High School prom, he couldn't stop smiling. The velvet hat that read "Prom King 2008." The matching cape. It was all so perfect.
Then the boos came.
It wasn't from everyone, but the dissent rose up from a small, but loud, group of people who were upset, not just because their favorite hadn't been chosen, but because the boy who did win had done something that had never before happened at Red Mountain.
He was prom king and he is openly gay.
His mother and father, who were in the audience to root for their son, described feeling sick at the sound of the jeering.
"He kept telling me he was going to win and he had convinced me," said his mother, Doreen Hutchinson. "When they called his name, we heard the cheering, but then we immediately heard the boos. My heart went into my stomach. It was so awful. My husband said he was expecting it, but I wasn't prepared. It was so sad."
Hutchinson said he felt bad that his parents had to hear his classmates who weren't supporting him. But he also said that their reaction is something he has known his whole life, and he wasn't about to let it ruin his moment.
"I'm always trying to be a good role model for other people. To tell them, 'It's OK to be gay. Just because you're gay doesn't mean you have to be the lowest person, treated the worst,'" he said. "But this is something I wanted to do for myself ? to prove something to me."
The king and queen titles have long represented archetypal male and female roles. But gay and lesbian students have been in the news more in recent years for asserting their right to run for their place on the royal court, too, so Hutchinson is not the first and likely won't be the last.
But according to several teachers with long tenures at the school, he, by all accounts, is the very first to be king at Red Mountain in its 20-year history, at least the first to be open about his sexuality.
Hutchinson was aware of that as he set his sights on the crown in January.
He said he had always been picked on for being more feminine than other boys; for not being interested in sports, for example, or other activities it seemed all his male counterparts were doing.
He came out to his parents on his 16th birthday, and the following school year ? after moving from Basha High School in Chandler to Red Mountain in Mesa ? he started off the first day being open about his sexuality.
He said Mesa is known for having a large population of conservative Christians who don't necessarily support homosexuality. So he was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't have any problems until prom night.
Now that he has graduated from high school, he hopes to continue working to promote awareness and acceptance by speaking to students who are studying to become teachers about how they can make schools a better place for students like himself.
Red Mountain student Maddy Cypert said she knows there is a lack of understanding at her school about what being gay even means.
She was disappointed that her classmates reacted the way they did to Hutchinson.
"I was hoping he would win. When he won and everyone started booing I was really frustrated by that. A lot of people at my school, they're really biased against gay people," she said. "I don't necessarily think it's right either, but I don't think people should be bullied for what they believe."
Teacher Keiko Dilbeck said Hutchinson is a student to admire for his kindness and his ability to inspire. She was disappointed by the response at prom and wrote a letter for the school newspaper to tell students how she felt about the ones who spoiled a memorable moment.
But Hutchinson said it's not what he will choose to remember most about his senior prom. Instead he'll remember that he set a goal that, to some, might have seemed unachievable, and reached it with ease and marginal opposition.
"The people who booed me, I forgive them. But, I guess there's really nothing to forgive," he said. "I refuse the idea that 'being gay' is a reason to hate someone. I refuse to accept it, it has become obsolete. Those who do hold that hate in their hearts, well, after my crowning it is obvious they are now the minorities."
Copyright 2008 Associated Press
-
What is going on the ballot is a constitutional amendment. An amendment to the constitution cannot be unconstitutional.
-
Time Warner Cable tries metering Internet use
By Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer
Time Warner Cable starts customer trial with metered Internet access in Texas
NEW YORK (AP) -- You're used to paying extra if you use up your cell phone minutes, but will you be willing to pay extra if your home computer goes over its Internet allowance?
Time Warner Cable Inc. customers -- and, later, others -- may have to, if the company's test of metered Internet access is successful.
On Thursday, new Time Warner Cable Internet subscribers in Beaumont, Texas, will have monthly allowances for the amount of data they upload and download. Those who go over will be charged $1 per gigabyte, a Time Warner Cable executive told the Associated Press.
Metered billing is an attempt to deal fairly with Internet usage, which is very uneven among Time Warner Cable's subscribers, said Kevin Leddy, Time Warner Cable's executive vice president of advanced technology.
Just 5 percent of the company's subscribers take up half of the capacity on local cable lines, Leddy said. Other cable Internet service providers report a similar distribution.
"We think it's the fairest way to finance the needed investment in the infrastructure," Leddy said.
Metered usage is common overseas, and other U.S. cable providers are looking at ways to rein in heavy users. Most have download caps, but some keep the caps secret so as not to alarm the majority of users, who come nowhere close to the limits. Time Warner Cable appears to be the first major ISP to charge for going over the limit: Other companies warn, then suspend, those who go over.
Phone companies are less concerned about congestion and are unlikely to impose metered usage on DSL customers, because their networks are structured differently.
Time Warner Cable had said in January that it was planning to conduct the trial in Beaumont, but did not give any details. On Monday, Leddy said its tiers will range from $29.95 a month for relatively slow service at 768 kilobits per second and a 5-gigabyte monthly cap to $54.90 per month for fast downloads at 15 megabits per second and a 40-gigabyte cap. Those prices cover the Internet portion of subscription bundles that include video or phone services. Both downloads and uploads will count toward the monthly cap.
A possible stumbling block for Time Warner Cable is that customers have had little reason so far to pay attention to how much they download from the Internet, or know much traffic makes up a gigabyte. That uncertainty could scare off new subscribers.
Those who mainly do Web surfing or e-mail have little reason to pay attention to the traffic caps: a gigabyte is about 3,000 Web pages, or 15,000 e-mails without attachments. But those who download movies or TV shows will want to pay attention. A standard-definition movie can take up 1.5 gigabytes, and a high-definition movie can be 6 to 8 gigabytes.
Time Warner Cable subscribers will be able to check out their data consumption on a "gas gauge" on the company's Web page.
The company won't apply the gigabyte surcharges for the first two months. It has 90,000 customers in the trial area, but only new subscribers will be part of the trial.
Billing by the hour was common for dial-up service in the U.S. until AOL introduced an unlimited-usage plan in 1996. Flat-rate, unlimited-usage plans have been credited with encouraging consumer Internet use by making billing easy to understand.
"The metered Internet has been tried and tested and rejected by the consumers overwhelmingly since the days of AOL," information-technology consultant George Ou told the Federal Communications Commission at a hearing on ISP practices in April.
Metered billing could also put a crimp in the plans of services like Apple Inc.'s iTunes that use the Internet to deliver video. DVD-by-mail pioneer Netflix Inc. just launched a TV set-top box that receives an unlimited stream of Internet video for as little as $8.99 per month.
Comcast Corp., the country's largest cable company, has suggested that it may cap usage at 250 gigabytes per month. Bend Cable Communications in Bend, Ore., used to have multitier bandwidth allowances, like the ones Time Warner Cable will test, but it abandoned them in favor of an across-the-board 100-gigabyte cap. Bend charges $1.50 per extra gigabyte consumed in a month.
Copyright ? 2008 Yahoo! Inc.
-
10 States Ask Calif. to Delay Gay Marriage
by the Associated Press
The attorneys general of 10 states are urging the California Supreme Court to delay finalizing its ruling to legalize same-sex marriage.
The attorneys general say in court documents filed Thursday that they have an interest in the case because they would have to determine if their states would recognize the marriage of gay residents who wed in California.
They want the court to stay its ruling until after the November election, when voters likely will decide whether to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown is urging the court not to grant the stay.
The states involved are Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah.
?365Gay.com 2008
-
..... he did the right thing - he withdrew....
Not really. He isn't leaving until his contract expires.....June 2009. He will still be principal next year
-
My alma mater continues to gay bash
Submitted by Kevin Wuzzardo, co-anchor of Good Morning Carolina
A decade ago, and for years before that, Irmo High School in suburban Columbia was one of the best schools in South Carolina. That may not sound like much based on the state of education in the Palmetto State. But back in the day, Irmo was as good as any school in the country. We were always at or near the top of the state in test scores and other school grades. Our academic competition teams routinely competed for national titles. Our athletic teams were among the best in the state. Our faculty was among the best and brightest you could find, and so, in turn, were the students. Graduating from Irmo, you knew you were prepared for college and the real world beyond.
Today, though, my alma mater makes headlines for all the wrong reasons it seems. The latest black eye came earlier this week when the school's principal announced he would leave when his contract expires at the end of the 2008-09 school year. All because he had to allow a club for gay students at his school. In a letter to "Irmo Nation" (whatever that is) Eddie Walker claims it's because allowing such a club conflicts with professional and religious beliefs. He also writes that based on the school's sex ed policy of teaching abstinence, "I feel the formation of a Gay/Straight Alliance Club at Irmo High school implies that students joining the club will have chosen to or will choose to engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, opposite sex, or members of both sexes."
I'll bet the school also preaches healthy diets. So will the Spanish Club have to disband because members make flan? I don't know Eddie Walker, so I can't speak to what kind of man or educator he is. But I question his reasoning and the life lessons of acceptance, tolerance and even logic he is displaying to impressionable young minds. Sir, I can guarantee there are members of the football team, the cheerleading squad and the debate team who "will have chosen to or will choose to engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, opposite sex, or members of both sexes." Guarantee.
This latest bit of negative attention is bad enough. But it's even worse when you consider other bad press. For instance 10 years ago this month Walker's predecessor made another anti-gay statement of sorts. The school won a national competition that earned it a free concert on campus from the Indigo Girls. When some parents called principal Gerald Witt and complained that the Indigo Girls were (GASP!) lesbians, Witt cancelled the concert, drawing unwanted attention from media across the country and beyond. I know Gerald Witt. My senior year was his first year as principal, and I admired and respected the changes, especially in attitude and pride, he made early on. And when he retired from the job a few years ago, I wrote to him and told him how much I respected him and the difference he made in my experience as a student. But even though I had already graduated, I certainly lost respect for the way he handled the Indigo Girls.
On a different note, two years ago Irmo was the center of attention again for all the wrong reasons, after local investigators say they foiled a plot by gang members to fight at an Irmo football game. Gangs and violence just were not something we worried about at Irmo years ago. Once upon a time, the worst thing that could be said about Irmo was that one of our distinguished alums was Donna Rice, the young woman who led to the unravelling of Gary Hart's presidential campaign and political career. But times change, I guess.
But back to the issue at hand now. Where have we come as a society that the leader of a public school thinks it's worth his job to oppose an act of inclusion? How does something like this happen twice at one school that was once known for being a leader in education? It disturbs me that we are still at a point where adults act like this in front of children. I respect Walker's personal beliefs. But they should be just that. And again, his rationalization of his professional beliefs as an excuse make me wonder if he is fit to continue as principal the last few days of this school year let alone all of next year.
The fact of the matter is that in every school there are going to be homosexual students. And you can bet that in most cases, it is not an easy experience for them. The goal of all clubs and activities in schools is to give young people a place where they can find themselves, find acceptance, find out who they are. I know when I was a student we had a chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, where students could come together and share their religious faith far more openly than they may feel comfortable in other school settings. Why shouldn't gay students have the same opportunity? I'm fairly sure if this club had been around when I was a student, friends who later came out would have had a better experience in high school.
Schools are not just places for students to learn reading, writing and 'rithmetic. It is also a place where they learn right and wrong, where they learn to be functional members of society. What I'm learning from Eddie Walker is that if a particular group of people offends your personal beliefs you should stand up and oppose them. OK. Fine. But I'm also learning that apparently you should cower behind excuses to explain away your own narrow-mindedness, confusion or even hatred instead of seeing if there's even a chance to get along.
"I don?t intend to make a big deal out of this," Walker wrote in his letter. "Let?s get it over quick (sic) so we can close this year and have a great 2008-2009 school year. I intend to work with you and our students to make 2008-2009 the best year in our illustrious history. It is very important to me that the club sponsor and all students who join this club receive Golden Rule treatment from everyone."
Golden Rule treatment? As in treat others as you would like to be treated? Fine. I think plenty of people will be happy to act out against what you believe in.
Copyright ? 2008 Morris Network Inc. & WWAY-TV
-
Irmo High principal quitting over Gay-Straight Alliance
IRMO, SC (WIS) - The Irmo High School Principal's announced resignation over a controversial student group is already drawing national attention.
Principal Eddie Walker told WIS News 10 his resignation won't take effect until June, 2009 - the end of the 2008-2009 school year.
Walker says it comes after he was asked to allow the creation of a Gay-Straight Alliance club at the school.
He wouldn't talk on camera with us, but we did receive a letter he wrote to the school, in which he tells his side of the story, which involves a controversial student group:
"The formation of this club conflicts with my professional beliefs in that we do not have other clubs at Irmo High school based on sexual orientation, sexual preference, or sexual activity. In fact our sex education curriculum is abstinence based. I feel the formation of a Gay/Straight Alliance Club at Irmo High school implies that students joining the club will have chosen to or will choose to engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, opposite sex, or members of both sexes.
My decision to resign is a personal choice based on my professional beliefs and religious convictions. I have prayed about the decision for a period of time and I have a peace about it. I would ask that you respect my choice as I respect your choice to disagree with me on this issue. I bear no malice towards anyone involved."
(Click here to read the complete letter)
Tuesday Lexington School District Five issued a statement through Director of Community Services Buddy Price.
It says, "The federal law known as the Equal Access Act does not permit the school to discriminate against a club based on the club's purpose and viewpoint by not allowing it to form unless the purpose of the club is unlawful."
Wednesday, the district followed up with a statement from spokesperson Michelle Foster.
"Attorneys have advised the school district that prohibiting the formation of this club would most certainly result in a costly lawsuit ... The only other recourse the school district would have would be to eliminate all non-curricular clubs all together."
WIS News 10 broke the story at 11:00pm Tuesday. By Wednesday morning CNN featured our story, and national groups started commenting on the resignation.
"It is a shame that the principal at Irmo High School in South Carolina decided to place religion-based bigotry and discrimination over his former commitment to his students and staff," said Faith In America Executive Director Brent Childers.
(Click here to read Childers' complete statement)
Irmo parents and students are also talking.
"We are not putting them like, 'ugh. You know you're lepers.' But we have to stand for what our foundation of our nation was about," says parent Brenda Enoch.
Enoch supports Walker's decision to resign. She feels the formation of the Gay/Straight Alliance club would lower values in schools that parents have fought hard to achieve.
"You stand up for what you believe in. Your principles. Don't try to change others," she says. "He has to stand for what he believes in. And if he stands for what he believes in, then yes. I feel it's just."
Ashlei Tate, who graduated from a high school in Glorida with a Gay/Straight Alliance club, compares banning groups like the GSA to racial segregation of the past.
"Everyone has equal rights. We shouldn't discriminate from what they need to do," says Ashlei Tate. "People used to make fun of and beat up gay people, just because they were different. This is actually a program to make everyone feel that they belong."
We spoke with the president of a similar club at USC, who says the formation of the club should be viewed as an outlet to help young teens express their sexual preference.
We also spoke with another parent who said Principal Walker should have had his way and never allowed the club to form.
Lexington Five officials have not announced when they will begin searching for a new principal for the 2009-2010 school year.
Copyright 2000 - 2008 WorldNow and WISTV
-
-
New report claims 86 countries criminalize same-sex acts
By Tony Grew
The International Lesbian and Gay Association?s 2008 report on state-sponsored homophobia says that to be lesbian or gay risks jail time in 86 countries and death penalty in seven.
The figure normally quoted is 77 countries.
The research deals only with legislation criminalizing consensual sexual acts between persons of the same sex in private above the age of consent.
Laws dealing with such acts in public, with under aged people, with force or by any other reason are not included.
In addition to those 86 countries there are six provinces or territorial units which also punish homosexuality with imprisonment, said ILGA.
A 30-year-old world federation, ILGA consists of 670 lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex groups from more than 100 countries.
"Although many of the countries listed in the report do not systematically implement those laws, their mere existence reinforces a culture where a significant portion of the citizens needs to hide from the rest of the population out of fear," said Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, co-secretary general of ILGA.
"A culture where hatred and violence are justified by the state and force people into invisibility or into denying who they truly are.
"Whether exported by colonial empires or the result of legislations culturally shaped by religious beliefs, if not deriving directly from a conservative interpretation of religious texts, homophobic laws are the fruit of a certain time and context in history.
"Homophobia is cultural. Homophobia, lesbophobia and transphobia are not inborn. People learn them as they grow."
ILGA's 2008 report on state homophobia around the world is available at www.ilga.org
This year, ILGA has also included a list of countries according to their legislations affecting LGBTI people.
This allows readers to get a quick and comprehensive overview on the legal situation in the world, from countries penalizing homosexual activity with death penalty to the few ones allowing adoption for same-sex couples.
Along the same lines, ILGA has published a map on LGBTI rights that can be used to raise awareness of people on the many laws affecting LGBTI people in the world. It is available on www.ilga.org.
Philipp Braun, co-secretary general of ILGA, said:
"In many cases prejudice against homosexual people is the result of ignorance and fear. This long catalogue of horrors is but a tale of the intolerance against what is foreign and different.
"Decriminalisation of same sex activity is as urgent as ever. The fight for the respect of every minority has to be everyone?s fight.
"We believe that the recognition of sexual minorities as components of our civil societies and the acknowledgement of the equality of their human rights can contribute to learning how to live together, that is, the learning of democracy.
"ILGA is committed to have sexual orientation and gender identity come out and be discussed at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
"We believe the Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, recently developed by a group of international human rights experts, are a useful tool to frame such a discussion among UN member states.
"It is important to set this debate where it belongs: on the human rights agenda. Altogether 60 countries have publicly supported sexual orientation as an issue at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights/Human Rights Council since 2003.
"Criminalisation of consensual same-sex activity is being challenged by NGOs and states in the current Universal Periodic Review."
PinkNews.co.uk
-
Presidential Candidates On Same-Sex Marriage
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Washington) When it comes to same-sex marriage there are few differences in the positions of John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. All three are opposed but would grant varying rights to gay and lesbian couples. And all three oppose amending the US constitution to bar same-sex marriage.
Clinton would amend the Federal Defense of Marriage Act that was signed into law while her husband was president to remove sections that bar the federal government from providing benefits to same-sex couples.
Obama would repeal the law altogether and permit civil unions.
McCain would follow the Clinton lead by leaving in place the section barring the government from recognizing gay marriage but he would support benefits for same-sex pairs. McCain voted both times against his party when the proposed constitutional amendment came to a vote in the Senate, calling the measure "un-Republican".
Following Thursday's ruling by the California Supreme Court striking down that state's ban on same-sex marriage both Obama and Clinton released carefully worded statements saying it was an issue for the states.
McCain said it should not be a decision for judges to take.
All three have been consistent since the campaign began.
Last August during a presidential forum on Logo-television, the network which owns 365Gay, Obama pushed civil unions.
"Civil union that provides all the benefits for a legally sanctioned marriage," said Obama.
In the same forum Clinton called it an issue for individual states to decide, a position she later repeated on the Ellen DeGeneres TV show.
"I've always believed that marriage should be left to the states, because that's where it's always been," Clinton told DeGeneres on April 7.
Perhaps the only surprise has come from Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr - the man who while a Republican Congressman was the author of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Barr said late Thursday he has no problem with the California high court ruling.
?Regardless of whether one supports or opposes same sex marriage, the decision to recognize such unions or not ought to be a power each state exercises on its own, rather than imposition of a one-size-fits-all mandate by the federal government (as would be required by a Federal Marriage Amendment which has been previously proposed and considered by the Congress)," Barr said in a statement..
"The decision today by the Supreme Court of California properly reflects this fundamental principle of federalism on which our nation was founded."
?365Gay.com 2008
-
Group Returns To Court, Seeks Delay In Gay Marriages
(San Francisco, California) Even as same-sex couples across California begin making plans to tie the knot, opponents are redoubling their efforts to make sure wedding bells never ring for gay couples in the nation's most populous state.
A conservative group said it would ask California's Supreme Court to postpone putting its decision legalizing gay marriage into effect until after the fall election. That's when voters will likely have a chance to weigh in on a proposed amendment to California's constitution that would bar same-sex couples from getting married.
If the court does not grant the request, gay marriages could begin in California in as little as 30 days, the time it typically takes for the justices' opinions to become final.
"We're obviously very disappointed in the decision," said Glen Lavy, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which is pushing for the stay. "The remedy is a constitutional amendment."
With a stroke of a pen Thursday, the Republican-dominated court swept away decades of tradition and said there was no legally justifiable reason why the state should withhold the institution of marriage because of a couple's sexual orientation.
The 4-3 opinion written by Chief Justice Ronald George said domestic partnerships that provide many of the rights and benefits of matrimony are not enough.
"In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," George wrote for the majority in ringing language that delighted gay rights activists.
Gay marriage opponents, meanwhile, derided the ruling as an example of judicial overreaching in which the opinions of a few justices trumped the will of Californians.
The last time the state's voters were asked to express their views on same-sex marriage at the ballot box was in 2000, the year after the Legislature enacted the first of a series of laws awarding spousal rights to domestic partners.
Proposition 22, which strengthened the state's 1978 one-man, one-woman marriage law with the words "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California," passed with 61 percent of the vote.
The Supreme Court's ruling Thursday struck down both statutes.
Still, backers of a proposed November ballot measure that would allow Californians to vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage said the court's decision would ultimately help their cause.
"(The ruling) is not the way a democracy is supposed to handle these sorts of heartfelt, divisive issues," said Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage, one of the groups helping to underwrite the gay marriage ban campaign. "I do think it will activate and energize Californians. I'm more confident than ever that we will be able to pass this amendment come November."
To date, 26 states have approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.
In the past few years, courts in New York, Maryland and Washington state have refused to allow gay marriage, and New Jersey's highest court gave the state lawmakers the option of establishing civil unions as an alternative.
Massachusetts is the only other state to legalize gay marriage, something it did in 2004. More than 9,500 same-sex couples in that state have wed. The California ruling is considered monumental because of the state's population - 38 million out of a U.S. population of 302 million - and its historical role as the vanguard of many social and cultural changes that have swept the country since World War II.
California has an estimated 108,734 same-sex households, according to 2006 census figures.
"It's about human dignity. It's about human rights. It's about time in California," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom told a roaring crowd at City Hall after the ruling was issued. "As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. It's inevitable. This door's wide open now. It's going to happen, whether you like it or not."
The case was set in motion in 2004 when Newsom threw open City Hall to gay couples to get married in a calculated challenge to California law. Four thousand wed before the Supreme Court put a halt to the practice after a month.
Two dozen gay couples then sued, along with the city and gay rights organizations.
Gareth Lacy, a spokesman for Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose office argued to uphold the ban, said Brown would "work with the governor and other state agencies to implement the ruling."
The justices said they would direct state officials "to take all actions necessary to effectuate our ruling," including requiring county marriage clerks to carry out their duties "in a manner consistent with the decision of this court."
By Thursday afternoon, gay and lesbian couples had already started lining up at San Francisco City Hall to make appointments to get marriage licenses. The county clerk's office in Los Angeles issued a statement saying it was awaiting legal analysis of the ruling and a timeline for implementation.
California's secretary of state is expected to rule by the end of June whether the sponsors of the anti-gay marriage ballot measure gathered enough signatures to put the amendment on the ballot.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has twice vetoed legislation that would have granted marriage to same-sex couples, said in a statement he respected the court's decision and "will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."
?365Gay.com 2008
-
California overturns gay marriage ban
by AP News
SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court has overturned a gay marriage ban in a ruling that would make the nation's largest state the second one to allow gay and lesbian weddings.
The justices' 4-3 decision Thursday says domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage. Chief Justice Ron George wrote the opinion.
The city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples and gay rights groups sued in March 2004 after the court halted San Francisco's monthlong same-sex wedding march.
The case before the court involved a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a voter-approved law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
With the ruling, California could become the second state after Massachusetts where gay and lesbian residents can marry.
"What happens in California, either way, will have a huge impact around the nation. It will set the tone," said Geoffrey Kors, executive director of the gay rights group Equality California.
California already offers same-sex couples who register as domestic partners the same legal rights and responsibilities as married spouses, including the right to divorce and to sue for child support. It's therefore unclear what additional relief state lawmakers could offer short of marriage if the court renders the existing ban unconstitutional.
A coalition of religious and social conservative groups is attempting to put a measure on the November ballot that would enshrine California's current laws banning gay marriage in the state constitution.
The Secretary of State is expected to rule by the end of June whether the sponsors gathered enough signature to qualify the marriage amendment, similar to ones enacted in 26 other states.
The cases before the California court were brought by the city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples, Equality California and another gay rights group in March 2004 after the court halted San Francisco's monthlong same-sex wedding march that took place at Mayor Gavin Newsom's direction.
Copyright ? 2007 Page One News Media, Inc.
-
Right-wing lawyers: HRC anti-bullying program indoctrinating kids
by Nick Langewis, Page One Q
Representatives of a conservative legal organization contend that a program aiming to foster a healthy learning environment is actually a Trojan horse for the "homosexual agenda."
"The Human Rights Campaign can say what they want, but the program speaks for itself," said Alliance Defense Fund legal counsel Austin Nimocks on Tuesday, "and it's designed to get kids to believe that their sex is not a biological fact, but an inconvenience that's changeable based on how they feel."
"You have the largest homosexual advocacy group in the country now attacking one of the largest public school districts in the country in order to affect the most children that they can with one blow," Nimocks continued.
The Alliance Defense Fund has written a letter of "warning" to Minneapolis school officials about the perceived insidiousness of HRC's "Welcoming Schools" guide.
"As you are aware," the letter opens, "your schools have been targeted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) as one of their pilots for instituting its 'Welcoming Schools' project. HRC defines itself as the 'largest national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization.' In other words, HRC represents only 4.1% of those adults (not children) in America who define themselves as either gay or lesbian. We respectfully request that this memorandum be considered on behalf of the remaining 95.9% of the population, including all children."
The letter goes on to say that HRC's program introduces controversial subject matter on gender identity and "unproven scientific theory that runs counter to American cultural and scholastic interests" to students. Nimocks and colleague Brian Raum also compare the fostering of free gender variance and expression among the "afflicted" to denying a schizophrenic access to medications.
Compiled in response to concerns from parents and teachers, "Welcoming Schools," currently being tested in three school districts including Minneapolis, offers guidelines to parents, guardians, teachers and administrators on promoting an inclusive and welcoming elementary school environment for all students, regardless of their gender expression or family configuration.
"In typical style, the 'conservative right' is distorting the truth," Ellen Kahn, director of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Family Project, told PageOneQ. "The Welcoming Schools Guide is a comprehensive resource designed to transform elementary schools into fully welcoming learning environments for all students and their families. The Guide is meant to reflect the real fabric of our diverse communities -- children raised by single parents, grandparents, multicultural families, 'traditional' families, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents.
"Most anti-bullying resources are generic in their approach to teaching respect, and generally leave GLBT families out of the picture. What makes the Welcoming Schools Guide unique is its inclusion of GLBT families and tools for talking about GLBT issues in ways that make sense for younger children. As a result, the Welcoming Schools Guide is receiving praise from leaders in education who value a broad approach to diversity issues and are looking for new approaches to creating safe, respectful learning environments for all."
Copyright ? 2007 Page One News Media, Inc.
-
Lawyer blames school in shooting of gay Oxnard student
Attorney for youth facing arraignment on murder charges says officials failed to defuse tensions.
By Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
As 14-year-old Brandon McInerney prepares to be arraigned today in the slaying of 15-year-old Lawrence "Larry" King at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, his lawyer is advancing a defense that at least partly blames school officials for the tragedy.
Educators should have moved aggressively to quell rising tensions between the two boys, which began when King openly flirted with McInerney, said Deputy Public Defender William Quest.
Instead, administrators were so intent on nurturing King as he explored his sexuality, allowing him to come to school wearing feminine makeup and accessories, that they downplayed the turmoil that his behavior was causing on campus, Quest said.
On Feb. 12, McInerney shot King in the back of the head with a handgun as first-period classes were beginning, according to police. McInerney's inability to see another way to solve his problem is partly the fault of the school system, his attorney said.
"Brandon is not some crazed lunatic," Quest said. "This was a confluence of tragic events that could have been stopped. If there is partial blame in other places, let's not throw away Brandon for the rest of his life."
McInerney has been held in Juvenile Hall in lieu of $700,000 bail since the shooting. Ventura County prosecutors have announced their intent to try him as an adult. The teenager is scheduled to enter a plea at today's proceedings, but Quest said the arraignment may be postponed until the court decides on his motion to try him as a juvenile.
Under state law, juvenile offenders can be incarcerated until the age of 25 and then must be released. If he is convicted as an adult, McInerney would face 50 years to life, with an additional three years for a special hate-crime allegation.
"We think there will be evidence that the school, with the actions of Larry, didn't quite know how to deal with it," Quest said.
School Supt. Jerry Dannenberg strongly disagreed with such allegations. "School officials definitely were aware of what was going on, and they were dealing with it appropriately," Dannenberg said Wednesday. King was constitutionally entitled to wear makeup, earrings and high-heeled boots under long-established case law, Dannenberg said.
Totten said he was open to further discussion on trying McInerney as an adult. Prosecutors are looking at all of the evidence and are considering pleas from the community, as well as from McInerney's family and friends, he said.
Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times
-
Microsoft Makes the COFEE
by David Brant
We now know as of yesterday that, since June of 2007, law enforcement agencies have been making use of a computer security-bypassing piece of hardware made by Microsoft called COFEE (Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor).
The USB thumb drive contains 150 Microsoft programmed special commands to allow the user to decrypt passwords, recover all of the computer's data stores, and read a complete log of the computer's Internet activities. It works on-site with any Windows-loaded computer, including PDAs.
Microsoft's General Counsel Brad Smith described COFEE yesterday as being new technology developed to aid law enforcement in this new age of ?new digital cities? online.
Microsoft gives law enforcement authorities the COFEE for free. So far, over 2000 agents in 15 different nations across the globe, including Interpol, are using COFEE.
The revelation has some feeling uneasy, and asking themselves the question: "If MS can write a tool that bypasses all of that pesky Windows security, how long will it take before someone else does, too?"
However, computer experts are already saying that the only thing new about COFEE is that now those who are not computer code or hardware and software experts can do what those have already been able to do for quite some time, and do it faster and more conveniently.
Smith told a gathering of law enforcement agencies in Redmond, Washington yesterday that online publishers who see huge financial opportunities in advertising to the fervently churning Internet online community and thus permit people to participate anonymously, such as with Google AdWords and AdSense, are also permitting "criminals to infiltrate the community, become part of the conversation. and persuade people to part with personal information...[Also], criminals seek to win a child's confidence in cyberspace and meet in real space."
Microsoft has been acting to meet law enforcement wishes for better, faster methods of fighting cybercrimes since at least 2005, as more and more crimes get committed in the digital world in parallel with increased socializing, commerce, researching, and banking online. Phishing, fake IDs, and bots roam the cyberworld and law enforcement insists that it must be able to keep pace without needing to hire masses of computer hacking experts or rely on comfiscating every suspected computer and taking it back to a central lab.
Microsoft invests millions of dollars annually into its law enforcement aiding efforts.
"It's in Microsoft's interest for people to have a safe and healthy computing experience. This is a part of our broader corporate citizenship," says Aaron Kornblum, a senior attorney with Microsoft's Internet Safety Enforcement division.
-
Now all I need to do is get IE7 running long enough to download the update
-
City panel votes to nix Boy Scouts-connected front group
by Nick Langewis
A commission in the nation's second-largest city, by a unanimous vote, is forcing its fire department to drop part of its cadet program administered by a group it says is a front for the Boy Scouts of America to skirt anti-discrimination policy.
The programs in question were developed by Learning for Life, an affiliate of the Boy Scouts, and adopted by the Los Angeles Fire Department. The Learning for Life mission statement, as retrieved from their website, reads: "It is the mission of Learning for Life to enable young people to become responsible individuals by teaching positive character traits, career development, leadership, and life skills so they can make moral choices and achieve their full potential." While materials have also stated that participation is not restricted based on criteria such as race, religion and sexual orientation, the Fire Commission and Lambda Legal contend that the organization is at odds with city anti-discrimination policy due to its Boy Scouts ties.
The Boy Scouts of America, while considered a non-profit, private organization, has received public funds and favorable financial treatment on federal and local levels. The organization's right to discriminate as a private entity was upheld by the Supreme Court in Boy Scouts of America et al v. Dale, filed by gay assistant scoutmaster James Dale, kicked out of the Scouts after the discovery of an interview he did during a gay-themed seminar. The ruling overturned the New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling that Dale's rights were violated under the state's public accommodations law.
Such favor is not always garnered by the Boy Scouts, however. In December of 2007, the city of Philadelphia discontinued a deep rent discount on the city-owned Beaux Arts building, granted by the city in 1928, after the organization refused to change its position on accepting gays. Market rent for the building was estimated at about $200,000, but the Boy Scouts were paying the rate of $1 a month. The organization stands to be evicted, as an agreement to pay market value for use of the building was not reached.
"At the end of the day," said City Councilman Darrell L. Clarke, "you can not be in a city-owned facility being subsidized by the taxpayers and not have language in your lease that talks about nondiscrimination."
"Allowing the Boy Scouts to use this building rent free sends a message that the city approves of their policy," added Stacey Sobel, executive director of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania. "We are not looking to kick the Boy Scouts out. We just want them to play by the same rules as everyone else in the city."
While a February letter from Lambda Legal to Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo went unanswered, the Fire Commission has voted unanimously to instruct the fire department to end its relationship with Learning for Life by October 1, 2008.
"Learning for Life is a crystal-clear attempt by the Boy Scouts of America to avoid the anti-discrimination policies of cities like Los Angeles," Lambda Legal Senior Staff Attorney Brian Chase said. "A quick look at how LFL is set up will show you that the offices, finances and even directors and personnel of the two groups are completely intertwined. We're pleased the fire commission has taken this step and we hope other city departments do as well."
Copyright ? 2007 Page One News Media, Inc.
-
Michigan Supreme Court: No Health Benefits For Gay Partners
by The Associated Press
(Lansing Michigan) Local governments and state universities in Michigan can't offer health insurance to the partners of gay workers, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court ruled 5-2 that Michigan's 2004 ban against gay marriage also blocks domestic-partner policies affecting gay employees at the University of Michigan and other public-sector employers.
The decision affirms a February 2007 appeals court ruling.
Up to 20 public universities, community colleges, school districts and local governments in Michigan have benefit policies covering at least 375 gay couples. After the appeals court ruled, universities and local governments rewrote their policies to try to comply with the gay marriage ban - so the effect of Wednesday's decision is unclear.
The new policies no longer specifically acknowledge domestic partnerships but make sure "other qualified adults," including gay partners, are eligible for medical and dental care. The adults have to live together for a certain amount of time, be unmarried, share finances and be unrelated.
The voter-approved law, which passed 59 percent to 41 percent, says the union between a man and woman is the only agreement recognized as a marriage "or similar union for any purpose."
Justice Stephen Markman, writing for the majority, said that while marriages and domestic partnerships aren't identical, they are similar.
Dissenting Justices Michael Cavanagh and Marilyn Kelly said the constitutional amendment prohibits nothing more than same-sex marriages or similar unions. They argued that circumstances surrounding the election suggest Michigan voters didn't intend to take away people's benefits.
Republican Attorney General Mike Cox in 2005 interpreted the measure to make unconstitutional existing domestic partner policies at the city of Kalamazoo and elsewhere.
Twenty-one gay couples sued, saying the amendment was about marriage and preserving the status quo - not taking away benefits from gays. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm has sided with the couples.
?365Gay.com 2008
-
Kiss Lands Mass. Gay Couple In Trouble With Police
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(George Town, Grand Cayman) A gay couple from Massachusetts was detained by police after kissing on the dance floor of a popular club on Grand Cayman.
Aaron Chandler, 23, and his boyfriend, both from on Amherst, Massachusetts, were holidaying with the boyfriend's sister and brother?in?law on the Caribbean island.
The four had gone to the Royal Palms and joined about a dozen other couples who were dancing.
At one point Chandler kissed his boyfriend. A patron approached the men and berated them.
"He asked us not to do that," Chandler told the Cay Compass newspaper. "He said, 'you shouldn?t be doing this here'.
The couple ignored the protest and kept dancing. Chandler, who is a member of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition, then planted another kiss on his boyfriend.
"I do display affection when I?m with my boyfriend, publicly," Chandler told the paper. "It?s never anything most people would consider obscene however; usually it?s in the form of holding hands or a quick kiss."
An off-duty police officer intervened after the second kiss.
"He told me he did not want me to show public displays of affection," Chandler said. "He said it was against the law for two people of the same sex."
As the four Americans were preparing to leave the club Chandler kissed his boyfriend again.
At that point "The officer grabbed my wrist and told me he was placing me under arrest," Chandler told the Compass.
A second police officer arrived at the scene and the two men were taken to the George Town police station.
After several hours in a holding room they were released without any charges laid.
Chandler said that police attempted to get them to promise not to kiss again in public while on the island.
Whether they could have been charged is questionable.
Following complaints in several British territories in the Caribbean the UK Parliament passed a law in 2000 requiring the islands to abide by British law that decriminalized homosexuality.
But a police spokesperson told the Compass that two Cayman laws - the Penal Code and the Towns and Communities Law - could have been used to lay changes on the grounds that same-sex kissing in public caused distress or a disturbance to another member of the public.
Chandler, meanwhile, has filed official complaints with the Cayman Department of Tourism and with police.
?365Gay.com 2008
-
?Ex-gay? symposium canceled
Controversy surrounded forum's involvement with the APA
By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade
A controversial symposium that was supposed to look at the relationship between religion and homosexuality has been canceled.
The symposium, put together by some American Psychiatric Association members, caused consternation among some psychiatrists and gays, who argued that holding a dialogue with hostile figures would legitimize homophobic views. The forum was titled ?Homosexuality and Therapy: the Religious Dimension? and was supposed to take place Monday in Washington.
Warren Throckmorton, a counselor known for helping patients in efforts to alter homosexual behavior, was slated to speak at the event. The Grove City, Pa.,-based counselor said he was disappointed that the forum was no longer scheduled.
On his blog, Throckmorton writes that he was told that organizers did not cancel the event because gay activists were unhappy with it.
?At this moment, I am skeptical,? he writes.
Wayne Besen, executive director of TruthWinsOut.org, an organization geared toward countering ?ex-gay? organizations, called the cancellation of the symposium ?welcome news? in a statement on his blog.
?It gave the wrong impression that the American Psychiatric Association endorsed 'ex-gay' therapy, when, in fact, the organization soundly rejects such therapies,? he said.
The event caused some discontent among other APA psychiatrists. Jack Drescher, a gay New York City-based psychiatrist and former chair of the APA committee on gay issues, said association members organizing the forum did not appear to understand ?how conversion therapists and their supporters on the religious right use these appearances as a public relations event to try and legitimize what they do.?
Controversy surrounding the event had prompted a gay religious figure who was scheduled to speak to cancel his appearance. Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay, non-celibate priest to be ordained a bishop by the Episcopal Church, said he canceled his plans to attend because he came to believe that making an appearance would validate the concept that sexual orientation can be changed.
David Scasta, one of the APA members responsible for putting the symposium together, said the event was canceled because surrounding publicity made it impossible to accomplish the forum?s goals.
?The hype that has come with all of the media attention is to the point that it is becoming the proverbial circus, making it very difficult to achieve the goal of the symposium which was to open up dialogue, to share our views, to see where we are; treating each other with respect and looking for where there is common ground,? he said.
Scasta said organizers are planning to ?regroup, reconsider, and represent next year -- hopefully in a saner atmosphere.?
? 2008 | A Window Media LLC Publication
-
Judge dismisses part of students' free speech suit against Tech
By ANDREA JONES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A federal court judge dismissed some of the claims this week made by two Georgia Tech students who sued the school over free speech rights.
But the court's final ruling agreed that a Tech program that advocates tolerance of homosexuality should change its training manual.
A lawsuit filed by Tech students Ruth Malhotra and Orit Sklar in federal court two years ago challenged Georgia Tech's restrictions on speech, its student activity fee policy and the discussion of religious views in Safe Space, a college program that advocates tolerance of homosexuality.
The suit, backed by a national Christian legal defense fund, has been winding its way through the legal system.
Malhotra, a conservative Christian, argued that a Safe Space training manual pushed a religious viewpoint, which violates constitutional law. The judge agreed.
Last August, Georgia Tech agreed to change portions of a speech policy for students living in on-campus housing. Lawyers argued the policy was vague and unconstitutional. Tech took out wording that prohibits students from any attempt to "injure, harm" or "malign" a person because of "race, religious belief, color, sexual/affectational orientation, national origin, disability, age or gender."
Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund applauded the judge's decision to remove the religious information from Safe Space's program manual.
"A public university should not be open to disparaging the beliefs of students who hold to a biblical view of homosexual behavior while endorsing other views," ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum said in a statement. "The university's 'Safe Space' program had no business siding with certain religious beliefs while viciously attacking others."
Malhotra and Sklar said they believed Tech's policies aimed at protecting students from intolerance end up, instead, discriminating against conservative students who speak out against homosexuality and feminism and other issues.
Georgia Tech officials said they are happy with the outcome of the case and do not plan to appeal
"Georgia Tech will not be required to take any actions as the result of today's court ruling," Georgia Tech spokesman James Fetig said in a statement. "We are pleased that the plaintiffs were awarded no damages, and that the judge ruled in favor of the Georgia Tech free speech zone policy and use of student activity fees.
"As a result of today's ruling and the settlement of an earlier housing policy contention, Georgia Tech practices are exactly the same as before the suit was filed."
Copyright? 2008 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Scan to donate
Az Bill Would Allow Anti-Gay Slurs In Schools
in News & Views
Posted
Az Bill Would Allow Anti-Gay Slurs In Schools
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
LINK
(Tucson, Arizona) The Arizona Senate has given preliminary approval to legislation barring schools from discriminating against religious beliefs, a move opponents say will encourage students to bully gay students.
Sen. Linda Gray ®, one of the bill's sponsors said the measure is necessary because some school officials are violating the constitutional rights of students by not allowing them to speak out about issues.
But Democrat Sen. Debbie McCune Davis said there has to be limits. She proposed an amendment that would bar bullying in schools on the basis of race, religion and sexual orientation.
Republicans opposed the move. Sen. Jack Harper ® said the amendment would negate the purpose of the bill by allowing the very type of religious discrimination the legislation is trying to end.
He said that on the national Day of Silence students are allowed to "flaunt their alternative lifestyle" by wearing clothing with slogans supporting LGBT rights but under Davis's proposed amendment Christian students could not wear clothing expressing an opposing view.
The exchange prompted openly gay Sen. Ken Cheuvront to enter the debate.
Cheuvront (D) said that the expression beliefs must be tempered by the ability of school administrators to ensure that students are not bullied or harassed.
Nevertheless, the bill, without the amendment, was passed.
It still needs final approval in the Senate. The measure already has passed the House. Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has not indicated if she will sign the bill if it gains final approval in the Senate.
?365Gay.com 2008